CMDB CI life cycle and how it works

chandrakumar
Tera Contributor

Hello All,

 

Could you please share the reference document or link on CMDB CI life cycle and how it works.

 

Regards,

Chandrakumara BS

#cmdb #cilifecycle

1 ACCEPTED SOLUTION

Selva Arun
Mega Sage
Mega Sage

Hi @chandrakumar,

 

Great question! In addition to the excellent resources shared by @Mannapuram and @Harish Bainsla, I wanted to share what we typically do in our organization for CI lifecycle management:

 

**Our CI Lifecycle Process:**

1. **Discovery/Initial Build** - When we build a new server, it's automatically scanned through ServiceNow Discovery with all details captured (hostname, IP, specs, etc.)

 

2. **Active State** - While the CI is actively being used for applications, we continuously:
• Keep it updated through regular discovery scans
• Track patching and maintenance activities
• Monitor ownership and support group assignments
• Update relationships as applications/services change

 

3. **Decommission/Retirement** - Once a CI is set for decommission:
• We mark it as "Retired" in ServiceNow
• Stop active monitoring and discovery scans
• Keep the record in CMDB for audit/history purposes (in inactive state)
• Maintain the data but it's no longer actively tracked

 

**Key Point:** We maintain CI records even after retirement for historical reference and compliance, but they're moved to an inactive/retired state so they don't clutter active CMDB views or impact reporting.

 

The Now Learning course mentioned above is excellent for understanding the governance framework around this!

 

Hope this helps!

 

If you believe the solution provided has adequately addressed your query, could you please **mark it as 'Helpful'** and **'Accept it as a Solution'**? This will help other community members who might have the same question find the answer more easily.

 

Thank you for your consideration.

 Selva Arun

 

 

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6 REPLIES 6

Thanks @Selva Arun 

edward_williams
Tera Expert

The lifecycle of a CI (Configuration Item) is much like the lifecycle of a person. The real question here is how much of the lifecycle of a CI do you want under Configuration Control?

 

Do you want to capture the lifecycle of Ordered and Received and eventually compare that to Installed and Disposed to determine if any of your Ordered and Received devices wound up on Amazon?

 

Many people use "Decommission" as a lifecycle stage, but "Decommission" is an activity, it is not a lifecycle stage.

 

I say these things because it is important to understand your company's initiatives and what is required for CI lifecycle stages so that you can better evolve ServiceNow's automation for your processes to meet your company's needs.

 

If you need help in this area, I can help you.